News

Mountain Home Hosts Singaporean F-16 Student Pilots

9/3/2013

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More than 30 Arizona Air National Guardsmen, five F-16s, and Singaporean student pilots from the 162nd Fighter Wing in Tucson visited Mountain Home AFB,
Idaho, in August to help train Singaporeans in air-to-air combat
maneuvers, according to a Mountain Home release. "Back home, it's very
hard getting every student the required amount of flying hours, so we bring them up here and fly as red-versus-blue air forces," said Lt. Col. Julian Pacheco, Tucson's 152nd Fighter
Squadron assistant director of operations.
Tucson is home to Air Guard-led F-16 fighter pilot training. Another advantage of spending time at Mountain Home is the
ability of the Singaporean F-16 pilots to train with the base's F-15s,
including Singaporean F-15SGs flown by their countrymen who
train at the Idaho air base, states the Aug. 27 release. "This is a huge
benefit because it's their own countrymen they are training and fighting
against, who fly a completely different aircraft," said Pacheco (Mountain
Home report by SrA. Benjamin Sutton)